SCHOOL TEACHERS’ SALARIES.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 September 1924, Page 3

SCHOOL TEACHERS’ SALARIES.

INSTITPTE’S LETTER TO MINISTER. The Vow Zealand Iv Inca I ional 1 11 --1 i - tut " ha- writ!, u In the .Minister ol Edneal ion as tellow -: 1 have tia- honour, by direction ol the executive of the New Zealand Educational Institute. I ) inform um that tPe alt. |,1:.|1 of the excel! ti ve has been directed to some statements regarding the salaries of teachers repotted to have been made hv yon in the* House of Representatives wile'll introducing the Education K timnlcs. Ihe cxeeuTivc declares that the statements referred lo are likely to produce; an incorrect impression on the* public mind with regard 1 i Ibis subject, and lias directed me la make tin' following comLv way of rorivrtion.

- rcporLed in the daily Press. you ar>> (| noted as “veiitiiring to sav there was no other country in the world in which the woman teachers were a- well paid as in New Zealand": and. later, that “nowhere else in the British Empire was there a belter scale of salaries for women teachers.” In opposition to this opinion \ mil to point out io many, if not most, ol the British Dominions w omen assistant teachel s le-,-,.ive hi'dier salaries than in New /.calami. England. Wales. Ireland. Queensland. New Smith Wales, and a good many nails of Canada may he punted as examples. With regard to I'm reported statements that “the salary of the lost assistant master is ahoiit Bin". I have t-1 point, nut that the possible maximum under the old scale was £.18.! - lm those only of highest grading—with £|P, additional if married. I nder the present scale the maximum is £3B-1. i,las e.PI if married, and tlu-re are only PJA push 'oils giving that salarv. .so ordinarv first, assistant receives, or aan receive. C.1.1P. the maximum, even mi-ll.-r the old scale, being £l3'’ and d'T Hie scale recentlv iiitrndueed Ibis has hem “cut" to £-12-1. and even that is for I ho- e old v who are main -d. and of highest edlciency. The other statements to which T have to refer is; “There were women teachers in the service and nearly not ,-f | bom draw salaries of from £A H C n-,,. 1,-." ft is lo I * presumed Dial l!, 0 ivii’ll '.*ll mIiMTO 1 t«» arc assistants, since in actual fad. thmv are :’7Ol women teachers in the serci.e of whom •■.VO are assistants. It has I .-•■■II home in mind Mia I ill New Zealand it is the posit inn that is paid, and pol the I •ocher. Takim' 1.l- figures f, »,„ the IP2I report. of the 2000 wo. as-'si-Mits occunyiog those oositioos." 2IV n -ive b-s than £•". « week. evi aid that 108 of t'mm m o ■JIIIS. if tlll\V lvri'ivo t lit* llltll*possible orailiug addition, nmv iost. reach the Co a week standard, with, possible a VTV lew. d' those in schools „f grade 111 A. Of the woman assistants only 187', draw »v»r £o a week jess than one-lifth of them—and none of them as ninth as £7 a week. Of the infant-, mistresses in (be PH large schools. s<i far is it from the fact that ‘hpiite e number draw over £IDD a vear. and thev are engage 1 in the normal selmols. Of the others, only 10 receive more than £3.M.-tbe preva.l--i„.r salary—and 37 receive le-s than that. Tie* maximum is now BtD'h Tf tin* bead and sole t- -whets are taken into account it will he found that -I'm receive sle-ditlv over Co a week. lOC others under £7. lIS under r-a. 1 oilier under ££. and o’dy -I over CO. and on* of these is lewd mistress of a Normal selumf. It will thus he seen Unit oillv one woman teacher m a thousand reaches the £0 a week mark, and far less than half of them receive £b a week. , r ' In the compilation ot these figures house allowance and hi-'hest grading addition have heen included, so that thev present the most favourable view of the position.